Legal action on behalf of a county councillor and the county’s chief administrative officer has been delayed to give the subject of their complaints time to find a lawyer.
Wellington Chief Administrative Officer Scott Wilson and county councillor and Puslinch Mayor Brad Whitcombe have sought a peace bond order against self-professed journalist Bill Manderson, and have also launched a $2.4-million libel lawsuit against the Guelph resident.
The charges stem from material written by Manderson in over 150 letters to county councillors and staff, as well as comments on a website run by the 73-year-old.
On Tuesday, Chris Wayland, of the Toronto law firm McCarthy Tetrault, acting on behalf of Wilson and Whitcombe, was in Guelph Superior Court asking that specific comments be removed from the website until the courts determine Manderson’s innocence or guilt.
But that request was delayed after Justice Cas Herold discovered Manderson had not attained a lawyer.
“If there is an adjournment, we ask that it be very brief,” Wayland said, referring to the matter as “urgent.”
Herold questioned the degree of urgency, likening Manderson’s comments to “hyperbole.”
Wayland replied, “The comments being made are far more egregious than what your honour may have seen.”
Herold, Wayland, and Manderson agreed to meet on Feb. 6 at 9:30am to set a date for a hearing.
Outside the courtroom, Manderson explained he has been denied legal aid and is searching for a lawyer. As for his defence, he says that part is easy.
“I stand by everything I said as being truthful – and I have the proof,” Manderson said, adding he has dozens of witnesses willing to back him.
He also told the Advertiser he is not looking for publicity.
“This is an issue between me and county council,” he said.
Some of Manderson’s comments in the Jan. 19 summons to appear include a comparison between actions of the county’s library board to a “Blitzkrieg” and suggesting a culmination similar to the Nuremberg trials “when the ‘thugs and bullies’ were tried, convicted and hanged for their crimes.” The text continues, “Stick around, history will repeat itself.”
Another statement attributed to Manderson quotes the Merchant of Venice – “And if you wrong us, shall we not avenge [sic]?” Yet another reads, “Wives, children, parents, friends and colleagues will be subjected to much personal pain and anguish.”
County Warden Joanne Ross-Zuj said last week the county is footing the bill for the actions because Wilson is an employee and Whitcombe an official, and the website can affect them.
None of the charges or claims against Manderson have been proven in court.
